Which NHL Division Will Be the Best in 2026-27?

This offseason has been one of the most active in terms of player movement we’ve seen in a long time, and it might not be done yet. With all the movement, I wanted to go through each division and rank which are the easiest and hardest before the season starts.

Last season, the Pacific Division was notably terrible, with Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid calling it “a bit of a pillow fight.” Both Eastern Conference divisions ended the season with six teams finishing with over 90 points. Here are the divisions from best to worst heading into the 2026-27 season.

1. Atlantic Division

The Atlantic Division is undisputedly the deepest in the NHL and has the top-end teams that are Cup contenders.

I’ll start with the Cup contenders, and I think the team leading the charge in that area is the Florida Panthers, who shockingly missed the playoffs last season. Heading into this season, they’ve acquired Brady Tkachuk and Jacob Markstrom. Adding both of those players, on top of their roster getting healthy, they’re instantly a Cup contender.

The Montreal Canadiens have the same roster as last season and haven’t made a big splash in the offseason, but they didn’t need to. Oliver Kapanen isn’t the best option at second-line centre, but the rest of the roster is stacked with young talent and good veterans. I don’t see why they won’t be another dangerous team in the Cup contender category.

The team the Habs beat in the first round last season, the Tampa Bay Lightning, should also be a solid team, adding John Carlson to the roster.

Below them, you also have the Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs all looking to get into the playoffs. Each of them has their own case as to why they’re a playoff team, and it’s going to be a bloodbath to try to get into the playoffs in this division.

2. Central Division

I have the Central Division as the second hardest in the league, and this is mostly because of the teams at the top.

The Colorado Avalanche last won a Stanley Cup in 2022 and have been at the minimum a playoff team ever since then, including two division titles. Last season, they were very disappointing in the Western Conference Final, getting swept by the Vegas Golden Knights, but they were still in the final four.

There has been a little bit of turnover since last season. The Avs traded Valeri Nichushkin to the Columbus Blue Jackets; Jack Drury and Ross Colton were traded to the Nashville Predators, and Nick Blankenburg, who played a big role when the Avalanche were facing injuries on the defensive corps during the playoffs, is on a professional tryout with the Maple Leafs. Their biggest addition over the offseason is former Seattle Kraken left-winger Jaden Schwartz.

Although there was tinkering in the bottom-six, the Avs will still be a contender in the Western Conference.

The Dallas Stars have been perennial contenders, much like the Avalanche, and after an offseason with little change to the roster, as well as hopefully a healthy Mikko Rantanen, they should be a contender yet again.

The Minnesota Wild are having a very difficult time getting Quinn Hughes under contract after this season, but they should be a great team for this upcoming regular season. I’m not a fan of the lack of centre depth they have, but that is more a playoff problem rather than a regular season problem. With all the talent on the defence corps, in net and on the wings, they are a great regular season team. That was proven last season when they put up 104 points without having a full season of Hughes.

I covered the Wild for the playoffs, and I thought Hughes-Brock Faber was one of the most dynamic pairings I’ve ever watched. If John Hynes keeps them together, I think that will be a game-breaking pairing.

While I think the centre depth hurts the Wild’s case, I still believe all three teams I mentioned will be in the category of Stanley Cup contenders.

The rest of the division isn’t quite there, with the Chicago Blackhawks and the Winnipeg Jets likely being lottery teams. Then there are the Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues, who I think are both in the same category as potential wild card teams in the Western Conference.

Finally, the one team I haven’t talked about is a team that I think could potentially take an even further step than they did last season. The Utah Mammoth could be a problem in the Western Conference this season.

The forward corps was fast and exciting last season, and then they made a trade for Vincent Trocheck to add to their top six. I was also a fan of adding Sebastian Cossa to be a backup for Karel Vejmelka because Vitek Vanecek didn’t provide much support as a backup option.

Although this division isn’t as deep as the Atlantic, there are the top-end Cup contenders and the Mammoth, who could be dangerous as a wild-card team.

3. Metropolitan Division

The Metropolitan Division has the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes, but after that, most of the teams have serious question marks surrounding them.

One team that I don’t think has any is the Washington Capitals. The Caps made serious additions this offseason with Alex Tuch and Jordan Kyrou to really improve a forward corps that finished middle of the pack in goals scored last season. For a team that missed the playoffs by just four points, I think we’ll see them take a divisional spot.

After that, both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are going to have to prove to me they can repeat and make the playoffs. Prior to last season, the sentiment around the league was that Pittsburgh was the only team that was going to be selling, but then they made the playoffs.

The Philadelphia Flyers were also a surprise and made the playoffs by playing low-event hockey. They finished third-best in expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60) and ninth in goals against, but only 28th in expected goals for per 60 minutes (xGF/60) and 20th in goals scored.

Neither team, to me, is a lock for the playoffs, and they certainly aren’t going to be a Stanley Cup contender.

The New Jersey Devils could take one of the playoff spots, but that solely relies on Jack Hughes staying healthy. He has missed serious chunks of games in each season since he got drafted, aside from 2020-21 and 2022-23. Even if he stays healthy, running out a goaltending tandem of Jake Allen and Nico Daws simply isn’t good enough to be a real contender.

The two New York teams aren’t serious threats for the playoffs in my opinion. I see the Rangers as a lottery team, but the Islanders, who were in the playoff race last season, also aren’t a team I see making it.

Although it felt like the Isles were right there all season, they were largely carried by Ilya Sorokin, and while I like him, I don’t think that is sustainable.

4. Pacific Division

I think the ‘pillow fight division’ is going to have another tough season. At the top, the Oilers will likely win it, but I don’t see them as a serious contender with the lack of goaltending.

After them, the Golden Knights will push them for the division, but I look at them more as a team that just gets through the regular season and turns it on in the playoffs. We saw a prime example of that last season, as it felt like nobody wanted to win the Pacific until Vegas took it late in the season.

The San Jose Sharks are up and coming, with tons of offensive firepower headlined by Macklin Celebrini, but they’re a flawed team defensively that can hold them back when the games start to tighten up.

After those top three teams, I’m not a fan of the rest of the division. Anaheim had a terrible offseason, and their roster has taken a hit because of it. The Los Angeles Kings hired Peter Laviolette, which should help them, but I don’t think their roster is strong enough.

The Seattle Kraken don’t have enough offensive firepower to be a real threat, and the Calgary Flames as well as the Vancouver Canucks will be lottery teams this season.

There just isn’t enough talent in the division, which is why I have the Pacific ranked as the worst in hockey.